The Armenian government has approved a package of legislative amendments aimed at introducing mandatory registration and monitoring of mobile phones through their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, in a move designed to curb the country’s shadow mobile phone market.
The draft amendments to the Law on Electronic Communications and related legislation were approved at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
According to the government, the absence of an IMEI control system in Armenia has enabled the circulation of mobile phones with undeclared, counterfeit or altered IMEI codes, resulting in tax losses, distorted market competition, and increased technical and security risks.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a comprehensive registration and traceability system for imported mobile phones in line with international best practices. The unified IMEI system will integrate customs data, mobile operators’ activation records and international databases, allowing only legally imported mobile devices to be activated on Armenian networks.
The government says the new mechanism will help reduce illegal trade, strengthen state oversight and improve public security. The proposed regulations also предусматривают mandatory IMEI registration at the time of legal importation and introduce restrictions on IMEI code duplication, modification and the activation of mobile devices that have not cleared customs.
The initiative is also expected to facilitate the participation of Armenia’s mobile network operators in international IMEI databases that track global fraud involving mobile devices.
Commenting on the bill, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the mobile phone market remains one of the country’s largest shadow sectors.
“The mobile phone market is the largest shadow market, and despite everything we do, it continues to operate,” Pashinyan said. “These solutions have long existed around the world, and our political position is that the era of the black market for mobile phones is coming to an end. In the Republic of Armenia, no phone that cannot be verified as having been imported legally will be able to operate.”
Pashinyan noted that discussions on the initiative had been underway for about a year and a half, adding that Armenia needed to adopt “radical, standardized and civilized solutions” to address the issue while continuing enforcement efforts against illegal trade.
